Immersion quenching apparatus



March 4, 1969 V.-A. NEUBAUM IMMERSION QUENCHING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 4, 1964 INVENTOR M7: for 14. lVeub 00m United States Patent 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for immersion quenching of hot coke carried thereto periodically by a car which receives the coke as it is pushed from the ovens of a battery of coke ovens. The apparatus includes a stationary reservoir located at an elevation below that of the coke car and having a bottom which is sloped toward a side wall that has a discharge Opening extending upwardly from the reservoir bottom. The reservoir opening is equipped with a gate, and a sealing device interposed between the gate and the sides and bottom of the opening prevents the escape of quenching water from the reservoir when the gate is closed. A transfer grate extends downwardly and outwardly from adjacent the reservoir bottom to a coke receiver which is at a lower elevation than the reservoir. A receiver adjacent to and at a lower elevation than the transfer grate receives quenched coke which slides over the grate after being discharged from the reservoir. The water from the reservoir passes through openings in the grate into a sump.

This invention relates to apparatus for immersion quenching of hot solid materials and more particularly to improved apparatus for immersion quenching of hot metallurgical coke obtained from a battery of by-product coke ovens.

Hot metallurgical coke, pushed from the ovens of a battery of by-product coke ovens, is usually quenched by spraying it with a large volume of water. The hot coke from the ovens is carried on a self-propelled car to a spray quenching station where the car and its contents are drenched with water until the coke is quenched. This method of quenching often results in the coke having a non-uniform moisture content because all of the coke is not sprayed with an equal volume of water. In addition, spray quenching is particularly destructive to the coke car which is exposed to the hot water and corrosive vapors resulting from the water passing over the coke, which may be as hot as 2000 F. when pushed from the ovens.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide coke quenching apparatus which will consistently produce coke having a uniform moisture content.

It is a further object of this invention to provide coke immersion quenching apparatus which receives the hot coke from the coke car and allows it to return to the battery for another oven of coke while the quenching operation takes place.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide coke immersion apparatus which does not subject the coke car to the corrosive action of hot water and vapors which occur in present day spray quenching stations.

The objects and advantages of this invention will be more clearly understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view showing the immersion quenching station of this invention located a short distance from a battery of by-product coke ovens.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of FIGURE 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings there is shown a by-product coke oven battery with an immersion quenching station 11 located a short distance from one end of the battery, as is the case with spray quenching station. Adjacent and parallel to the coke side of battery 10 is track system 12 which extends alongside station 11. Hot coke pushed from one of the ovens of battery 10 falls onto the sloping bottom 13 of self-propelled car 14 which travels over track system 12 to quenching station 11.

Immersion quenching station 11, in the preferred embodiment of my invention, comprises a reservoir 15 above which is stack 16, liquid sump 17, adjacent to reservoir 15, coke receiver 18, adjacent to sump 17, and transfer grating 19.

Reservoir 15 is open at the top and has end walls and 21, track side wall 22, discharge side opening 23, extending between end walls 20 and 21, and bottom 24 which slopes downwardly from track side wall 22 and has a lip 25, at its lower discharge end, extending outside reservoir 15. Stack 16 is supported above reservoir 15 on corner columns 26 and beams 27.

Mounted on top of reservoir track side wall 22 and extending approximately the full length of this wall is sloping transfer plate 28, which is somewhat longer than coke car 14. The upper edge of plate 28 extends beyond wall 22 to a position beneath sloping bottom 13 of coke car 14 when it is in position to open its gates 29 and discharge hot coke into reservoir 15. This construction prevents spillage of hot coke between coke car 14 and reservoir side wall 22.

End walls 20 and 21, as are shown in FIGURE 3, are of increasing thickness, from side wall 22 to discharge opening 23, and therefore, the interior surfaces of these walls converge toward each other at the ends of walls 20 and 21 adjacent reservoir discharge side opening 23, for reasons hereinafter disclosed. End wall 20 has overflow 30 located somewhat above the normal water level in reservoir 15. Water passing through overflow 30 enters trench 31 and discharges into sump 17. Beam 32 spanning reservoir discharge side opening 23 is mounted on end walls 20 and 21. Connected to beam 32 in any suitable manner, as by bearings 33 and shafts 34 is discharge side opening gate 35. Mounted on the water side of gate 35, along the vertical edges and the bottom, is seal 36. When gate 35 is in the closed position, seal 36 is compressed between gate 35 and the vertical sides of end walls 20 and 21 and sloping bottom 24, thereby preventing the leakage of water from reservoir 15.

Gate 35 is opened and closed by any suitable means such as cylinders 37 enclosing pistons, not shown, which actuate piston rods 38, connected at their outer ends to brackets 39 on the lower portion of gate 35. Cylinders 37 are mounted upon bases 40. The pistons and their rods 38 are driven in reciprocating movement by hydraulic pres sure supplied by fluid delivered under pressure through pipes 41 from a suitable hydraulic system 42.

Extending alongside, at a lower elevation, and for the full length of reservoir 15 is su-mp 17. Sump 17 can be constructed in any suitable manner but preferably it has vertical walls 43 and bottom 44 that slopes toward a discharge connection 45 which is normally closed by a valve, not shown. This construction permits the periodical re moval of solids from sump 17 in a rapid economical manner. Preferably sump 17 is designed to have a capacity somewhat larger than that of reservoir 15.

Coke receiver 18 extends alongside sump 17 and has a length at least equal to opening 23 of reservoir 15. Receiver 18 has vertical walls 46 and a bottom 47 that slopes downwardly to bottom discharge gates 48 which control the flow of coke onto an endless conveyor 49 mounted on platform 50 located directly beneath the receiver. Conveyor 49 transports the coke to a car loading station or onto other conveyors which carry the coke to its ultimate destination. Receiver 18 may be at the same elevation as sump 17 but must be at a lower elevation than that of reservoir 15. Preferably the coke capacity of receiver 18 is equal to at least double the coke capacity of car 14.

Extending from the lower lip 25 of reservoir 15 and sloping downwardly over sump 17 to coke receiver 18 is transfer grating 19. Grating 19 can be constructed in any suitable manner, as for example with wear resistant parallel plate members 51, extending from reservoir lip 25 to receiver 18, welded on edge, a short distance apart, to cross members 52. Beam 53, mounted on two opposite sump walls 43, extends beneath the midpoint of grating 19 and provides it with additional support. The essential features of grating 19 are that it slopes at an angle which will permit coke to slide or tumble without stopping and that the spaces beween plate members 51 are not so large that the coke, other than very small particles, will pass between them and fall into sump 17.

Motor driven pump 54, located adjacent reservoir 15, discharges water through supply pipe 55 into reservoir 15. Water is supplied to pump 54 through sump feed pipe 56 or make-up water pipe 57, connected to a source not shown. Sump feed pipe 56 has at its lower end, near the bottom of sump 17, strainer 60 and check valve 58. An automatic valve 59 controls the flow of make-up water to feed pipe 57 and pump 54.

The preferred embodiment of this invention described above operates in the following manner:

Hot coke pushed from one of the ovens of battery is caught in car 14 which travels along track system 12 to immersion quenching station 11. The car operator positions his car 14 alongside transfer plate 28 on side W311 22, opens car gates 29 and discharges the hot coke into water filled reservoir 15. The coke capacity of reservoir is greater than that of car 14 so that a full car of coke can be easily accommodated and rapidly quenched. The coke is allowed to remain in the water until the coke has been fully quenched. Reservoir discharge side gate 35 is then opened, either manually or automatically after a predetermined time period, and the water, which has not been evaporated by the hot coke quenching process, and the coke pour-out of reservoir 15. The purpose of having reservoir side walls and 21 slant inwardly, as described above, is to channel, to a limited degree, the flow of water as it leaves the reservoir. The steam and vapors created by the quenching pass upwardly and out of stack 16.

Water and coke pass over lower lip of reservoir bottom 24, and thereafter, the large particles of coke slide or tumble down grating 19 while the water passes between the grating plate members 51 and falls into sump 17. The coke passes down grating 19, over sump 17, and discharges into coke receiver 18. The quenched coke is fed from the bottom of receiver 18 through discharge gates 48 onto conveyor 49 which carries the coke away.

When reservoir 15 is empty of water and coke, gate 35 is closed, either manually or automatically after a given period, by the action of cylinders 37 and arms 38 under pressure of fluid delivered through pipes 41 by hydraulic system 42. As soon as gate 35 has closed and sealed discharge opening 23, pump 54 is activated to fill reservoir 15. Previously used quench water is pumped from sump 17 through feed pipe 56, pump 54, supply pipe 55 into reservoir 15. The inlet strainer 60 on feed pipe 56 is located somewhat above the bottom 44 of sump 17 so that the strainer and line do not become plugged with any solid material which accumulates in the sump. When there is insufficient quench water available in sump 17 to fill reservoir 15 to the desired water level, valve 59, on make-up water pipe 57, opens, and suflicient make-up water to fill the reservoir is supplied through pipe 57 to pump 54 and is discharged through supply pipe 55 into the reservoir. In the event more water than required is pumped into reservoir 15, the level of water will rise until it reaches overflow 30. Excess water flowing through overflow passes into trench 31 and discharges into sump 17.

The immersion quenching apparatus of this invention can be designed to be utilized with coke oven batteries presently in operation or with new insetallations. Where conditions are unsuitable for placing reservoir 15, sump 17 and receiver 18 all below ground level, track system 12 can be elevated and reservoir 15 placed above ground level.

The immersion quenching apparatus described above can be utilized to produce coke having a uniform moisture content of between 0% and 26%. In addition, the use of this apparatus sharply reduces the maintenance cost of the coke cars, which are no longer exposed to the hot water and corrosive vapors given off during the quenching process, and the cars are free, after discharging coke into the reservoir, to return to the battery for another oven of coke.

While there is shown and described only one embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description and that there may be various embodiments within the general scope of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for immersion-quenching of hot coke, carried thereto by conveying means after being discharged from a coking oven, comprising (a) a reservoir adapted to hold quenching liquid into which said hot coke is discharged,

(b) an opening in said reservoir,

(c) closure means associated with said reservoir open- (d) means to move said closure means to open and close said reservoir opening,

(e) means to supply quenching liquid to said reservoir,

(f) coke transfer means adjacent said reservoir,

(g) coke receiving means adjacent said transfer means.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said closure means is pivotally mounted to rotate about a horizontal axis.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said transfer means is at a lower elevation than said reservoir and adjacent thereto.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which said coke receiving means is adjacent to and at a lower elevation than said coke transfer means.

5. Apparatus for immersion-quenching of hot coke, carried thereto by conveying means after being discharged from a coking oven, comprising:

(a) a reservoir adapted to hold quenching liquid into which said hot coke is discharged, comprising:

(1) end walls, (2) a side wall, (3) a bottom, and (4) an opening in said reservoir opposite said side wall,

(b) closure means associated with said reservoir open- (0) means to move said closure means to open and close said reservoir opening,

(d) means to supply quenching liquid to said reservoir,

(e) coke transfer means adjacent said reservoir,

(f) coke receiving means adjacent said transfer means.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 in which said transfer means adjacent said reservoir has a plurality of openings and extends downwardly from said reservoir bottom.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 in which said coke receiving means is at a lower elevation than said coke transfer means.

8. Apparatus for immersion-quenching of hot coke larried thereto by conveying means after being discharged from a coking oven, comprising:

(a) a reservoir located at an elevation below that of said conveying means, and adapted to hold quenching liquid into which said hot coke is discharged, comprising:

(1) end walls, (2) a side wall adjacent said coke conveying means, (3) a bottom sloping downwardly from said side wall, and (4) an opening in said reservoir opposite said side wall,

(b) closure means, pivotally mounted at the top to rotate about a horizontal axis, associated with said reservoir opening,

(0) means to pivot said closure means so as to open and close said reservoir opening,

((1) means to supply quenching liquid to said reservo1r,

6. (e) coke transfer means extending downwardly from said downwardly sloping reservoir bottom, (f) coke receiving means at a lower elevation than said transfer means and adjacent thereto. 9. The apparatus of claim 8 in which said coke transfer means has a plurality of openings.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 903,714 8/1962 Great Britain. 518,313 1/1931 Germany. 512,335 10/1930 Germany.

NORMAN YUDKOFF, Primary Examiner. D. EDWARDS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 134111; 20l39 

